GAMAzing @ Pearl Farm

The Summer Outing has become a yearly tradition in our company, GAMA Foods Corporation. Last year, we splashed all the way to Bantayan Island in Cebu to spend the yearly activity. As this year's summer came, the management decided to bring the GAMA Family (composed of around 80 key people) to the popular Pearl Farm, Davao.

Nestled in the idyllic islands of Samal & Malipano, The Pearl Farm Beach Resort is a former cultivation farm for luxurious south sea pearls. 

Now, it continues its essence of prime luxury as a premier destination in the Philippines and as a perfect hideaway for those in search of blissful retreat.

First Day - Hello Davao! Hello Pearl Farm!

For CDO-based employees, we left at 3am on the 3rd of May through a bus hired for the activity. On the same day did our Visayas-Branches' employees flew to Davao. By lunch, we all met at Kookel's Bangkal located in the heart of Davao. Since our boat ride to the island is scheduled at 4:30pm, we spent our waiting time shopping at SM Lanang. By 4:00pm, we left Davao City heading to Pearl Farm which took about 45 minutes to get to our final destination. At arrival, welcome drinks were served by the resort's very accommodating staff.

On the our first night is the fellowship night where we get to meet and greet our fellow workers and teammates for the Summer Outing 2013's Amazing Race.

There were four teams namely the Green Team, Red Horse, Yellow Sponge and the Blue Dragons. Each team was shouting its chants as the members wave their banner.

Some games were rolled in the first night immediately resulting to the Green Team taking the lead.

1st Night's Partial Tally:

1st - Green Team
2nd - Blue Team
3rd - Yellow Team
4th - Red Team

And the night ended with the comforts of our luxurious accommodations. 

zzzzZZZZZzzzz....

Second Day - Island Hopping, Amazing Race

By 6:00am, everybody was up and was grouped accordingly. The time for Island Hopping Adventure is on.

JUMP OFF!

Everybody had fun snorkeling  diving and kayaking around the magnificent sea of Samal.

The place is a perfect venue for enjoying 

the rich corals underneath.

Picture Perfect!

Second stop is the ISLA RETA Beach Resort. A unique getaway from the city’s stressful life. What is so cool with this resort is that one can bring in their own food, although one needs to pay for corkage when bringing in beverages. But for those who hate the stress of preparing the food, the resort has its own food house.

We took our lunch in their and continued some of the activities.

And back to Pearl Farm. During our free time, most of us opted to spend it on the resort's pool. As if we were back in our childhood once again, just playing around and most importantly, having FUN!

Time for the Amazing Race held at the island just in front of us. This game contributed much of the muscle pain we were feeling on our way home.

LEFT! RIGHT!

LEFT! RIGHT!

LEFT! RIGHT!

RIGHT! LEFT!

RIGHT! LEFT!

RIGHT! LEFT!

In every game, there's always one team that outshines the others. In the recently concluded Summer Outing 2013, the title goes to the Blue Dragons. Seconded by the Green Team, followed by the Red Horse and finally the Yellow Team.

Awarding....

.............Parteeeeeey!

Third Day -  Departure from Pearl Farm, Pasalubong Shopping

On the last day, we had our last breakfast at Pearl Farm and leaved the resort at 9:00am. We had a quick pasalubong shopping before taking lunch at the Buffalo Grill.

Exhausting as it may be, the true award for all of us are the priceless memories that we will love to reminisce over and over again. Trully GAMAzing!

Travel Young

Summer is about to end, rain is starting to fall. So I googled stuffs about travelling. I saw blogpost by Jeff Goins. The Article was entitled, 3 Reasons to Travel While You’re Young.

This article really hit me. Why? Because I always wanted to travel – visit all cool places within Mindanao, and eventually the whole Philippines. Of course I also wanted to abroad and visit different countries, explore culture and experience life on the other side of the world. But, there’s always a “BUT.” I have hesitations. What about my work? My family? What will I do there? Maybe I’ll get lost. Expensive. And a lot of cowardly excuses.

When I finished reading his article, I realized, he was right.

Reason #1.

Travelling teaches you to live in adventure. If you just stay in your corner, you won’t grow, you’d be boring. When you travel, there is this thrill of the unknown and unexpected. It makes you be more spontaneous and adventurous.

Reason #2.

Travelling helps you encounter compassion. When you travel, you see a variety of people. Rich, really rich, poor, sick, normal, weirdo, addict, businessman, peddlers, crooks, young, teenager, old, very old, etc. And when you see them, you get to understand more why and how other people do stuffs. These learning then influences your compassion, and in growing as a better person.

Reason #3.

Travelling allows you to get some culture. As you begin to divulge yourself to adventure and to different people, you get something out of it – traits, way of thinking, and culture. When you travel, you become unconscious that you are already syncing in culture.

           

And these quotes hit me too.

“Do this while you’re still young. Do not squander the time. You will never have it again.”

“..Because you won’t always be young. And life won’t always be just about you”

I haven’t travelled much yet. But yes, CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. I will make travelling a hobby. 

Before you all travel abroad, explore Philippines first! Here is a list. click here. 

follow @sahmuhr.

--- until my next post. follow me https://twitter.com/#!/jarugaslag

Zoobic and Gapo

In a place where the legendary "ulo ng apo" sits has beautiful attractions to offer - some tranquility, some fun, some childish. Subic and Olongapo comprises Metro Olongapo, one of the 12 Metropolitan Areas of the Philippines.

One Piso Fare Day, we hatched a plan to take the bus to Olongapo (from Manila) to spend the weekend there. It wasn't a typical rainy June weekend, the sun was energetic but the Subic air was colder than our usual afternoon walk back home. Altogether we had lots of long walks, a little shopping, loads of fun (especially at the Zoobic Safari).

Place to Stay. Firstly, when travelling, you don't really want to get a really nice (and pricey) hotel especially if you do not intend to stay in that hotel for most of your trip - but this apartelle which is located in Olongapo City just a few steps from SM Olongapo - will not hurt your budget.

C'est la Vie Apartelle offers a safe place to stay along with its amenities - a big ref, stove, rice cooker, electric heater, a microwave oven and kitchen utensils - all at PhP 1,500 per day. You will not be forced to get up and walk to the restaurant early in the morning to get your breakfast or rush to 7 Eleven for your midnight snack after a tiring day. Totally a steal deal.

However of course, given a generous budget - the best place to go is Vista Marina Resort inside Subic Freeport. It is best to note that Subic bay does not offer the best beach - but it gives you the dose of tranquility you so deserve. Quiet and Peaceful. Calm and steady. It feels like you have the place only for yourself. You can swim, jetski, dine-out, or just let the sea breeze massage your back.

Shopping. Subic also means shopping (read: duty-free shopping). Currently, it has at least four (4) duty-free shops - the Subic DFS near the Yacht Club, The Freeport Exchange (the oldest duty-free shop in Subic) in front of Subic DFS, Puregold Duty-Free and Royal Subic Duty-Free. If you have a lot of spare time left plus a good eye for bargains, browse all 4 stores. But if you are on a tight schedule and could only visit 1 or 2 stores, go to Royal Subic Duty-Free then to Puregold (which are located close to each other). Adjacent to Puregold, you can visit Nike and Adidas Outlet Stores which offers really really huge discount.


Okay, of we go to Zoobic. The highlight of our trip to Subic and Olongapo is the the popular Zoobic Safari. But how to get there? Pretty challenging but do not be discouraged, it is very much worth it!

• First, you have to set aside your 10AM to 3PM of your day. Best to prepare early, bring enough water and food to keep you full and cool (note: food in the camp is a bit pricey, so yeah, don't forget).
• Transportation is a bit tricky. If you are staying in Olongapo (like us!), all you need to do is get a transport from the place you are staying to SM Olongapo - and cross the foot-path to Subic Freeport and straight to that Mini Stop you can see ahead (yes, that Mini Stop, not the other one). Just across the Mini Stop you can see taxis parking waiting for passengers. That is where your negotiation skills will be tested. Zoobic Safari is located in Subic Bay Freeport Zone - Group 1, Ilanin Forest which is about 30 minutes drive from Mini Stop. No traffic at all. The tricky part is that once you are in Zoobic camp, you can not get a taxi back to Olongapo. Best to talk to the taxi driver and start to bargain. Normally, the cost of going there are back is PhP800 but you can work it out to PhP600. And yes, I would say it is worth it. So go.

Once you are there you can see this. That is where you register and get your tickets. After that, you will have to find your group. Each group will have their own tour guide explaining all the attractions within the camp.

She is the tour guide and we belong to Group 9. We started our tour at Zoobic Park, Bird Walk, Rodent's World, Petting Zoo and Serpentarium.

Petting Zoo is where you are able to interact with tamed animals and feed them. Be ready with your smaller bills so you can buy the animal food at the Petting Zoo. It will be a memorable experience for your little one.

Finally, the highlight of Zoobic Safari is being able to experience the Tiger Safari. Up close and personal. Our Zoo Tram has arrived and will take us to more interesting sites.

Here we are. Tiger Safari - the only one in the Philippines.

It is not a free world. The tourist are kept inside the Jeepney that will tour inside the Tiger's compound. It is exciting, fun and thrilling. Totally wonderful experience. All the passengers paid for the chicken which will be fed to the Tiger on the loose.

Off to more breathtaking sights!



On our way back to where we came from, we passed by the Aeta's Trail, saw them perform some dancing, roam around leaving our trails behind.

 The last part was the Croco Loco. It was my first time to see lots of Crocodiles which are all four-legged! (pun intended). Well, the four-legged crooks seemed to be well-behaved compared to those two-legged crooks you can find everywhere. Look at them, all asleep!

 So, thanks for the ride! It was fun sharing with you. Bye Subic, bye Gapo, 'till we meet again. Ciao!

To be updated for inexpensive travel/vacation/trips follow us in twitter --- @sahmuhr

Come Again to CAMIGUIN

Come again. These two words are usually associated with the place named Camiguin. It’s not my first to visit this place, but my girlfriend’s.

What to bring?

1. Awesome camera
2. Map
3. Swim wear
4. Money (of course)

The trip could have been less expensive if we stayed on a friend’s place, unfortunately our friends are in cdo. But we found a nice play inexpensive place to stay.  

Day 1

We left cdo with an hour and a half hour bus trip to Balingoan. From Balingoan to Camiguin an hour and a half ferry ride.

We took “habal-habal” to Jasmin by the Sea, where we planned to stay.

The room was about around 7mx8m and it has its own bathroom, lamp shade, table, and cabinet for your clothes. It was originally priced at P600 per night, but since we stayed for three nights, they gave us a P100 discount. They have single motors for rent for P350 per day, we rented it for three days so they gave it for P300 only.

For our three days, we spent P250 for the gasoline and we already rounded the island with that.

Our first stop: “Katibawasan Falls”

Since we were just within the vicinity of Mambajao, our second stop was in 1914, where the best halo-halo in camiguin is served.

We took the first half of the island heading north to west. Next stop was in Walkway to the Old volcano and station of the cross.

We started trekking at around 2pm and the sun was flaming hot. We reached the 10^th station and decided to stop.

Next stop, Old Church Ruins.

Then we headed to Soda Swimming Pool. It’s not really a place to visit, but because we were near, we decided to stop and swim for a few minutes.

On our way home, we stopped by the Sunken Cemetery. We wanted to go to the big cross, but it’ll cost us P100. It could be cheaper if there were four since the banka can accommodate 4 pax. Since we didn’t cross, there was a guy who offered us to take our pictures. I was amazed how good they are in using dslr cameras. They know how to adjust and even taught us poses.

We ended our day with a pizza near our place (I forgot the name).

Day2

I woke up early, so I decided to take pictures of the view.

We took our breakfast then we headed to Phivolcs. It is on the top of Mambajao.

Then we started to round the island again, this time we routed west to south.

We went to their ostrich farm.

Then to Sabu Dam.

We stopped by Lagoon Bistro.

The place was very peaceful and relaxing. Near the bistro was the Camiguin Zipline.

Then to the Giant Clams Sanctuary.

You can dive or snorkel to see big clams of different species. They have very good guide. They have the “youth” and “cute” guides. The cute guides are the grade school kids. They speak very good English and they know a lot about clams.

We had our lunch there.

Next stop? Sto. Nino Cold Spring.

After the cold spring, we headed home taking the route from west to north.

Before ending the day, we went to Ardent Hot Spring, a perfect way to end the day.

Day3

The next day, we had friends who were also in camiguin and decided to go with them to White Island.

After White Island, we headed back to our room to rest.

We used our last day just doing nothing.

At around 4pm, we headed to mambajao market to buy Vjandep Pastel for pasalubong. Left the pastel in our room then spent the last night at Ardent.

The following morning, we left Camiguin.


The expenses?

143- bus (one way)
170 - barge (one way)
500 per night - room
300 per day - motor
100 per day - gas
not more than 30 - entrance on resorts


To be updated for inexpensive travel/vacation/trips follow us in twitter --- @sahmuhr